Ferrari's Fernando Alonso delighted the home fans by taking pole position for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with Jenson Button alongside the Spaniard on the front row.

Alonso was more than a tenth of a second quicker than McLaren ace Button, with the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa third fastest and Mark Webber fourth fastest in his Red Bull.

Standings leader Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel make up row three for Sunday's race, with the latter having been unable to find the pace he had in Friday's two practice sessions.

Alonso had earlier admitted that he needed strong results in the next two races to have any chance of a third world title.

He stated: "This race and the one in Singapore are maybe our last chances to really recover some good points.

"With six races to go I am still confident if we are on the podium for the first five and we win some races, we can very possibly be a contender in the last race."

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